Washington, the fifth-ranked player in the 2013 Sentinel Central Florida Super60 who recently committed to South Carolina, said other children made fun of the way he dressed, called him names and kicked his rolling backpack down stairs at school.

After taking it for a long time, Washington finally lashed out.

"I just had to fight back,'' he said. "In fifth grade, I got into a fight at lunch and got suspended."

According to a 2011 study by the Florida Departments of Health and Education, approximately 33 percent of Florida public high-school students experienced some form of bullying, teasing or name-calling in the past 12 months.

More than half of those students reported they were targeted because of their weight, size or physical appearance.

"It's a very sensitive topic in high school,'' Jones coach Kenard Lang said. "It's not tolerated at Jones, whether it's from a football player or anyone on campus. We don't experience a whole lot of that.''

At West Orange in Winter Garden, the Warriors have a program in which older players mentor younger teammates during summer workouts and go in pairs to weightlifting sessions.

"We think that fosters a lot of good,'' West Orange coach Chip Petree said. "It breaks down perceived notions about race, religion or whatever. It eliminates some of the bullying and hazing. We don't make fun of anyone because they're different."

Brooks Rumenik, director of the office of safe schools at the Florida Department of Education, said it can be difficult for someone being bullied to come forward.

"As humans, we always worry, 'Is someone going to believe me? Is the behavior going to be exacerbated by bringing it to someone's attention?' '' Rumenik said. "When schools do take steps to build a positive learning environment, that goes a long way to helping them express their concern."

Washington, who was playing Pop Warner football at the time he was bullied, said he learned to channel his frustration and anger in more positive ways.

MILWAUKEE — While the Cubs appear to be falling short of Anthony Rizzo's lofty winter prediction that they'd win the National League Central, the chance to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008 will be scrutinized this week against the Pirates and Giants, two seasoned playoff teams.

Donald Trump, widely believed to be the wealthiest American ever to run for president, is nowhere among the ranks of the country's most generous citizens, according to an Associated Press review of his financial records and other government filings.

A burst of thunderstorm activity across the Chicago area on Sunday afternoon resulted in a death and multiple injuries at an event in west suburban Wood Dale, the collapse of a dome in northwest suburban Rosemont and the temporary evacuation of the music festival Lollapalooza in Grant Park downtown.